What if I told you that you could have the sexual partner of your dreams? He or she would always be in the mood and put your needs first. He or she would fulfill every fantasy you’ve ever had. This is the dream lover that you’ve always wanted.

via Flickr’s octaypus: Futuristic Sex RobotThe only catch is that your lover isn’t a real person. Instead, it is a robot designed to look and feel like a human being. Would you be disgusted? Intrigued? I vote Answer #2.

I believe that modern and future technology will revolutionize our sex lives with toys light years beyond fake vaginas and vibrators. In the near future, humans will be able to have sex with robots. That is, robots that are designed to look and feel like real people. The future of sex will be more digital than physical … but then again, it is physical on your part.

If humans have sex with robots, artificial love could replace the real thing?

In a two part Sex Talk this week, writer Kis Lee helps me explore this amazing evolution into nonhuman sex partners. I’ve lectured on this topic for several years, but I sense that amazing changes in our sex lives — and the definition of intimacy — are coming at us with lightening speed.

Sex with robots - is this wishful thinking by a few lonely people? Could robots ever replace human affection and companionship? Could large numbers of men and women actually prefer this new partner, who never says no, is always ready for sex, and is programmed to cater to our every desire? Will the adult industry be able to take advantage of new technology?

Instead of being just a science-fiction fantasy, the future could change the way we view love and relationships.

Real Doll BritneyLove and Affection with Robots

We begin our conversation with a book by David Levy, a PhD in gender studies and artificial intelligence. In his book “Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relations,” Levy predicts a decades-near future where humans can have sex with and even fall in love with robots.

Sex with robots isn’t just a male fantasy. Citing the worldwide surge in the sales of vibrators, Levy is convinced that women will also be interested in sex-bots. It won’t be long before the adult industry decides to cash in on the technology.

Disconcerting as it might seem, I agree with Levy’s belief that humans can develop real emotions for their artificial mates. He imagines a beyond “beyond Second Life” future where a human can fall in love with a robot. With the right programming, the robot may seem so real that you can’t even tell the difference.

Not every country will embrace this sexual revolution, but Levy asserts that the US and Japan will embrace this new technology. What this assertion says about physical intimacy in America will be the subject of a future Sex Talk.

In this YouTube interview with Riz Khan, Levy has the dry, matter-of-fact demeanor of a college professor, when discussing the new, perfect sex partner. His ideas may sound far-fetched, but he presents them in a logical manner. His theory is based on the premise that humans can be capable of loving non-humans. He argues that humans can impute emotions to anything. Eventually a human will be able to fall in love with the non-human counterpart.

In Levy’s future, robots will be programmed to display artificial emotions. Robots will be programmed with a shopping cart menu of tailor-made, seductive attributes and personality traits. A human could eventually marry his robot wife and perhaps have multiple wives.

I think it ‘s interesting that Levy repeatedly uses the word “wife” instead of “spouse.” Are these new dolls the ultimate Stepford wives? Will the evolving alpha women find the same kind of fulfillment in silicone Sams?

Blind Date With a Sex Doll

It’s too easy to dismiss Levy’s vision of the future, when the adult market is already exploding with substitutes for the real deal already.

Virtual reality is changing the definition of human experience and interaction — creating a life experience dictated by each of us, on our own terms. It’s too easy to dismiss the possibility of nonhuman sex partners as being for weirdos.

In today’s world, many guys prefer the “company” of a sexy babe, cooing in his ear, front and center from a large computer screen. These perfectly airbrushed sex partners have already prepped the male psyche for sex with a mannequin. (I say male, because we have a dearth of equivalent products for women, not because I believe that females reject the behavioral experience. Yes, yes … women do want human intimacy, but I believe that women will embrace the technology as well, moreso that we understand or want to believe.)

In Japan, one man filled his small abode with more than 150 sex dolls. He said he prefers the dolls because they’ll never cheat on him. This may be an extreme example of how one man replacing human affection with artificial lovers. The fact remains that the dolls make him happy. This is his “beyond Second Life,” tailor-made iperfect existence.

Americans are searching for the secret of Happiness, a topic now the most popular course at Harvard. We are Dazed and Confused, and exhausted with modern life … with no letup in sight. Preposterous as robotic partners seems, I see it as one more step in human evolution and the pursuit of the ideal … and easy, uncomplicated sex in an increasingly demanding sexual universe.

The Real Deal Doll

By now, you may have seen or heard about “Real Dolls.” The term comes from the US company RealDolls, the leading manufacturer of life-like sex dolls. In the television series “Nip/Tuck,” one of the main characters had sex with a doll based on a porn star. In the movie “Lars and the Real Girl,” you saw the story of a man who presented a RealDoll as his fiancée. There are also websites that depict X-rated pictures of men (and women) having sex with these realistic sex dolls.

As with the entire adult industry, the devlopment of Real Doll’s male partners is behind the curve, compared to female dolls.

Real Dolls robot dollsMany men thrill at the idea of sexual access to his favorite porn star, celebrity or supermodel? Manufacturer Pipedream Products has sold more than 100,000 celebrity blow-up dolls including replicas of Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, and Pamela Anderson. These dolls may not be as life-like as the more expensive Real Dolls, but you can see that the market audience exists. We can only imagine how people are using the celebrity replicas! We can be assured that the word “no” is not in these girls’ vocabularies. (Think about the implications of this reality.)

Imagine having your very own Jenna Jameson doll with these attributes:

Wireless, vibrating ultra-soft mouth for your pleasure.
amazing life-like skin.
Solid head - Inflatable body.
Removeable Vagina & Mouth.
Jenna’s Breasts with life-like nipples.
Long flowing blonde hair.
Life-like hands and feet.
Holds up to 300 pounds.
Moveable Arms.

Bottom line, sex with robots is another element in the movement I call New Eroticism. Hopefully, Kis and I have piqued your curiosity, so that you stop by on Friday, when we continue our examination of this erotic, techno revolution in human sexuality. Anne